


i know you by heart

by intolauren



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 07:50:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13829748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intolauren/pseuds/intolauren
Summary: Three times Lena goes flying with Kara (and one time their feet stay firmly on the ground)





	i know you by heart

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to an impromptu snow day (bless you, england, for not knowing how to cope with any kind of snowfall), I was off work and able to do some writing! I've been thinking about this idea for two days straight and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Please let me know what you think when you're done :)

The first time Kara flies with Lena, she’s dressed as Supergirl and she thinks Lena doesn’t _know_. 

When Lena only somewhat hesitantly gives her permission to fly her home and then climbs into her arms, Kara assumes it’s because of her cape. Assumes that no one would climb into Kara Danvers’ arms, so it must be the cape that makes them feel safe. 

It stings a little, but then she remembers that she has Lena Luthor in her arms, and there isn’t anything in the world that’s painful about that. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Kara asks, and she tries not to think about how they aren’t even on the balcony yet, yet Lena’s already in her arms. “We could just walk. I mean, I could walk you home. Because it’s dark, you know? And I don’t want you walking home alone in the dark.” 

Kara tries to think straight, because Supergirl doesn’t babble. Most of the time, Supergirl talks in short, clipped sentences. But Lena makes things difficult. Lena makes Kara feel like… _Kara_. 

“And turn down a front row seat to the best view on earth?” Lena questions, and Kara pretends she doesn’t hear the nervous shake of her voice. “I could never, Supergirl.” 

Lena laughs a little then, and Kara can smell the alcohol on her breath. She frowns at that, but doesn’t say anything. 

Because Lena being drunk is the only reason Kara’s even here right now. At least if Lena’s had too much whiskey, Kara can tell herself that she won’t remember Supergirl dropping by and offering her a ride home, won’t question why National City’s only superhero is suddenly personally offering to fly her back to her apartment. 

“It can take a little getting used to. But if you want to stop, just tell me, okay?” Kara says, and then she walks out onto the balcony. 

It must be cold out, because Lena shivers. Kara pulls her tighter against her body instinctively. 

“Just take me home, please,” Lena replies, and then she tucks her head into the crook of Kara’s neck and suddenly, Kara’s the one who shivers. 

Just before her feet leave the ground, Kara zones in on Lena’s heartbeat.

She’s nervous; Kara’s spent enough time listening to Lena’s heartbeat to know this. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Kara asks, because she will not take off unless she’s absolutely sure. 

She feels Lena nod. “Just a little apprehensive, is all. I never really liked flying on planes. But I’m sure this will be different. Because it’s you.” 

Lena says the last three words like they’re a completely different sentence. Like they’re a completely different _book_. Like they mean something else entirely. Lena’s words make Kara’s heart skip. Not for the first time, her brain wonders if Lena _knows_. 

Kara shivers again at the thought. 

“Cold?” Lena asks, but Kara doesn’t respond. She just takes off into the night sky, thinking about all the lengths she’d go to just to keep Lena Luthor safe. 

For the first 5 minutes, Lena keeps her head tucked into Kara’s neck. Kara can feel Lena gripping onto her tightly, and when she glances down, she can see her knuckles are white against her forearm. 

Kara wants to card one hand through Lena’s hair, wants to trace her cheekbone with her thumb, wants to slip a finger under her chin so that she can tilt her head up to meet her eyes; Lena’s eyes are so much prettier than any view of any city, and Kara would rather look into them, than at any painting in the world. 

But she also wants to make sure Lena feels completely safe in her arms, so she holds her extra tightly with both hands and keeps her pulled as close to her chest as she can. 

It’s not necessary; Kara could hold Lena with her pinkie and she’d be absolutely safe. Physically, because Kara wouldn’t even _feel_ Lena’s weight like that, but also more than just physically, because Kara knows that she’s never felt compelled to love and protect anyone the way she feels compelled to love and protect Lena. 

It occurs to Kara that she could fly around the city a couple of times if Lena isn’t looking, because Lena won’t know that they’ve circled her neighbourhood multiple times. And if Lena doesn’t know… well, then it won’t hurt. Flying with Lena reminds Kara of all the good things in her life, all the _best_ things in her life, makes her feel like maybe she does belong here on Earth after all, and she half hates herself for waiting so damn long to do this. She wants to do this forever, now she knows how good it feels.

Kara might be a superhero, but she’s as selfish as the worst villain when it comes to Lena Luthor. 

It’s amazing how differently Kara sees the world, when she’s holding her favourite part of it in her arms. 

She’s circled the city three times before she feels Lena shift. Her lashes flutter against her neck, and Kara can tell that Lena’s opened her eyes for the first time since they took off from L Corp. 

Her heart rate picks up as she takes in her surroundings, and Kara’s about to ask her if she wants to stop, when the strangest thing happens. 

Lena’s pulse slows right down, almost to that of someone who is meditating, and her heart thumps steady and strong in her chest. 

Kara feels Lena’s body relax in her arms then, feels her tense muscles suddenly let go of the day’s stresses, and she thanks Rao for her superhearing, because otherwise, she might have missed the soft, contented sigh that escapes Lena’s throat. 

“Can you slow down?” Lena says, and for a second Kara almost doesn’t hear her, because she’s too transfixed by the sound of Lena’s sigh to hear anything else. 

When Kara realises that Lena has asked her to slow down, she panics. 

“Are you okay? Do you want to stop? I can have you on the floor in like 2 seconds,” Kara says, and then she hates herself as a blush covers her cheeks because _Rao_ she’s thought about saying that under completely different circumstances. 

Kara hopes the darkness of the night sky is enough to hide her blush, and then she glances down, expecting to find fear on Lena’s face. 

But she doesn’t. 

Lena’s face is a perfect picture of peace and contentment, and it makes complete sense, because Kara knows she’s never heard Lena’s heart beat so gently before. 

Lena feels safe up there with her, Kara realises. 

The thought almost stops Kara’s heart. 

“No, I’m fine, honestly, but the uh- I feel like I’m- This feels so-“ Lena starts three sentences but doesn’t finish any of them, her heart rate picks up a little, and it makes Kara smile because she would never have believed that strong and powerful and intimidating and calculated Lena Luthor could talk in sentence fragments before tonight. “The cold air just feels good on my face,” Lena says. Heart rate back to normal. “I drank too much. As usual. So the air feels good. Sobering. And so I could do with spending a little more time out here. I hate hangovers.” 

Kara slows right down so they’re practically hovering rather than flying. 

“Better?” She asks. 

Lena smiles. “Much better. Thank you, Supergirl.” 

For someone who has just pulled an excuse out of thin air, Lena actually looks calm. Kara wonders how she does it. When she considers that it’s maybe down to a lifetime of carrying the weight of the world on her chest and feeling like she has to hide how she feels, Kara almost leans down and kisses her. 

It would be so easy to. 

But Kara won’t kiss Lena like this. Kara won’t kiss Lena in the middle of a lie, because Lena deserves better. 

Lena always has, and always will, deserve better. 

So Kara just smiles back. 

“Does this ever get old?” Lena asks. “This view, I mean. I can’t imagine something this beautiful ever gets old.” 

Kara doesn’t even have to think before she responds. “Never. I could look at this view for the rest of my life and it would never be any less breathtaking than it is right now.” 

It says a lot that the only view Kara is thinking of consists of green eyes and cream skin and raven hair, and a smile that could break and mend a million hearts. 

“I love this city,” Lena says, and her voice is suddenly heavy, almost as though she pulled those four words from the bottom of her soul. 

“Me too,” Kara replies, and when Lena smiles deeply at her response, Kara considers that maybe Supergirl isn’t the only hero in National City after all. 

 

The second time Lena goes flying with Kara, it’s two days later and the city is sprinkled in a soft flurry of snow. 

Lena has spent the entire day wishing her office had blinds, because the snow makes everything too bright and she hasn’t been able to concentrate at all. 

It’s been a long day, longer than usual, with board meetings that run hours after they’re supposed to end and design meetings that seem to have no finish in sight and disastrous prototyping consultations, and by the time 7pm arrives and the building is finally quiet, Lena feels thoroughly exhausted. 

The only respite of Lena’s day had been when Kara Danvers brought her lunch. 

She hadn’t really had time to sit down and eat, but Kara could be extremely persuasive when she wanted to be, and besides, Lena’s day had already been behind schedule; what was 10 minutes with sunshine personified going to matter, anyway? 

Kara had all but talked her ear off for the first 7 and a half minutes, not even pausing to take bites of her food, and Lena had a hard time hiding affectionate smiles whenever Kara did anything particularly endearing. Which was a lot. 

Lena was perfectly content to sit and listen to Kara talking, and whilst Lena Luthor didn’t really allow herself to indulge in much of anything, Kara Danvers had quickly become the exception to that rule. 

And maybe that was because Lena knew she couldn’t have all of Kara.

Lena had always been a person who deeply desired what she knew she couldn’t have; her mother’s love was a prime example of this. 

So for 7 and a half whole minutes, Lena let herself imagine that she could have Kara after all. And every single second of bittersweet pain was worth it, because Kara just smiled so much, and there wasn’t a single thing on Earth that Lena wouldn’t do for one of Kara’s smiles. 

But when Kara glanced at her watch at 3 minutes to 2, her face had fallen slightly and she’d looked suddenly somber. 

Kara is the most expressive person Lena knows, and there isn’t a single emotion that she cannot read on Kara’s face. Kara wears every emotion like a hat, etched perfectly into the creases by her mouth, the colour on her cheeks, the crinkle in her brow. 

Kara is an open book, unlike Lena in every sense of the word. 

And so it’s almost humorous that Kara still thinks she’s keeping her super secret from Lena. 

Not humorous enough for Lena to bring it up though, because there has to be a good reason that Kara hasn’t told her, and Lena isn’t about to risk their friendship by asking. Besides, it doesn’t surprise her in the slightest that Kara is keeping something from her; Lena doesn’t blame her. 

“Would you have eaten lunch today if I hadn’t come by?” Kara had asked, her soft voice cutting into Lena’s internal monologue right before she could spiral into the deep pit of self-loathing. 

Lena forces a laugh. “Probably not.” 

The crease in Kara’s brow deepens and she sighs. “I worry about you,” she says, and then she hands Lena the rest of her lunch, which shocks Lena to her core because Kara Danvers eats more than anyone she’s ever known. She guesses it has something to do with being super, which makes her even more surprised that Kara is giving away her food. “Finish that, please. You need to eat more.” 

Lena opens her mouth to thank her, but her voice catches in her throat at Kara’s gesture, and she looks down before Kara can see her eyes well up of their own accord. 

“I’m picking you up tonight,” Kara continues as she stands and brushes crumbs from her lap. “And we’re getting takeout. I’m buying. I’ll see you here at 7.” 

“Kara, you don’t have to do that. Plus, I’m already behind today. I’m going to be working far later than 7, I’m afraid,” Lena argues, and even though she’s telling the truth, she also knows that it’s just an excuse. 

Because as much as she _wants_ Kara Danvers, she doesn’t _deserve_ her. And every time Kara does something nice for her, all it reminds Lena is that Kara is so much better than she is, that Kara is too _good_ for her. 

But Kara doesn’t take no for an answer. “I’ll see you here at 7,” she says again, and then she smiles indignantly and triumphantly, because she knows that Lena will agree. 

Lena sighs and rolls her eyes, opens her mouth to argue some more before accepting that it’s pointless. “See you at 7,” she agrees, her mouth curling into a soft grin. 

The smile Kara gives her in response is brighter than the sun and it reminds Lena of everything good in the world. 

Lena had felt Kara’s smile in every inch of her body for the rest of the day. And even though the afternoon had been long and exhausting, lunch with Kara had helped to make it slightly more bearable. 

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a cape fluttering and boots on her balcony startles Lena, and she turns to see Supergirl standing at her door. 

She’s wearing a Kara Danvers smile, and it makes Lena chuckle to herself. 

Kara always looks effervescent, but it’s even more evident tonight as she stands in the soft falling snow, her blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight. 

“Supergirl,” Lena smiles as she opens the door. “I’m afraid I don’t have long. I’m having dinner with Kara.” 

“Actually, Kara sent me,” Supergirl says, and then she flashes an apologetic smile. “She’s had to work late. And she asked me to stop by and make sure you got home okay. So here I am.” 

Chuckling lightly, Lena grins. “Kara has you making house calls now, does she?” 

Supergirl blushes softly, and then she reaches up to adjust glasses that aren’t there, before gliding her hand through her hair as if to shake out snowflakes that had melted as soon as they touched her. 

“Well, she was worried you wouldn’t get home in this weather. And since there’s no other pressing matter that requires my attention right now, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to do as Kara asked. She can be very persuasive,” Supergirl says.

Lena laughs. “Oh, I know that. I told her I wouldn’t be ready to leave my office until late, but she insisted otherwise,” she says, and then she glances back at her desk and frowns, rubbing her temples on a sigh.

“Long day?” Supergirl asks, concern on her face. 

Lena laughs, humorlessly. “The amount of paperwork on my desk this morning made me envy the trees that died to produce it.” 

Supergirl smiles, sympathetically. “So that’s a yes, then?” 

“A yes just about covers the basics of it,” Lena chuckles. 

There’s a pause then, and it’s one of those pauses that scream at Lena to tell Kara that she knows, that she doesn’t mind, that she loves her. 

But Lena’s gotten used to these quiet moments between them, and even though she still wonders what would happen if she gave in, if she spoke, she never does. 

Supergirl smiles, and the sight of her smile makes Lena feel like everything will be okay. “So, are you ready to go?” She asks. 

“I take it we’re flying?” Lena questions, hopefully. 

“If that’s alright with you?” 

Lena’s already covering the distance between them before Supergirl can even finish her question. 

Because ever since two days ago when she went flying with her for the first time, Lena’s been trying to think of a reason to go again. 

Flying with Kara had been the ultimate paradox. 

Considering that Lena’s always been terrified of flying, being thousands of feet above the city in the open air should have made her heart beat out of her chest. 

Instead, the reality had been much different. 

Flying through the night sky with Kara had made Lena feel so peaceful, had made every single loud and persistent thought just melt away into the background of her mind, had made every tense muscle in her body feel loose. 

Being in Kara’s arms, hearing her strong and steady heartbeat by her ear, a contrast to the whooshing sound of the wind and the traffic on the street below, had made Lena feel... safe. 

And safe isn’t a thing Lena Luthor ever feels. 

She’d briefly considered the irony in only finding safety whilst being a mile up in the sky with the wind whipping at her hair, but then Kara’s strong grip around her had tightened, and every thought in Lena’s mind had simply ceased to exist. 

There had never been so much space in her mind, and so little to fill that space with. 

As soon as her feet had touched the ground again, thoughts had started to creep back in, and before too long, her mind had been back to its usual self. Lena’s been craving that silence, that quiet, that comforting emptiness, ever since. 

“It is absolutely alright with me,” Lena says, and then she smiles as Kara opens her arms and invites her into them. 

Already, Lena feels quieter inside, and it makes her wonder if maybe the flying isn’t really what helps after all. Maybe it’s all just Kara. 

“Don’t you want your coat? It’s snowing pretty heavily out there,” Supergirl asks.

“I don’t need my coat when I have you,” Lena shrugs. 

Supergirl frowns, but doesn’t argue, and in one swift movement takes Lena into her arms. Once they’re out on the balcony, Supergirl pulls her cape over her shoulder and tucks it around Lena’s body. 

“Bullet proof _and_ snow proof?” Lena grins, and Supergirl rolls her eyes. 

“Are you ready?” She asks, and then she gets a deep and concentrated look in her eyes, as though she’s focusing completely on something, and it’s a beautiful sight, to see her energy and attention all zoned in one thing. 

Lena wonders what it is, but doesn’t ask. 

“Absolutely,” Lena replies and then her heart flutters in excitement, and internally she cringes at her body for reacting in such a way. 

If Kara senses Lena’s excitement, she’s polite enough not to comment on it as they take off from the balcony and into the night. 

As soon as they’re in the sky, quiet settles over Lena’s mind and very near takes her breath away. 

“Are you okay?” Supergirl asks, and Lena wonders if maybe she can hear the skip of her heart. She makes a note to fully research Kryptonian DNA as soon as she has a free evening to herself; she wants to know _everything_ there is to know about Kara. 

“I’m fine,” Lena replies. 

She considers saying more, but Lena’s never been very good at volunteering information about herself unless she’s asked for it. A lot of the time, words are on the tip of her tongue, but before they can make it any further, she considers all the ways in which they might be twisted, all the ways in which she could make a fool out of herself, all the ways in which she could potentially make a situation worse by speaking, and so she keeps everything to herself. 

But it’s quiet, _so quiet_ , inside her mind. 

And Kara’s looking at her like she really wants to listen. 

So Lena decides to take a chance. 

“It’s just really peaceful up here,” Lena says. “It feels… safe. And I don’t get that a lot, you know? So it’s— it’s a lot to take in.” 

She waits for the regret at having spoken, but it doesn’t come. And when Kara smiles in response to Lena’s words and Lena’s insides feel warmer than they ever have even though it must be way below freezing, Lena forgets that she isn’t allowed this. Happiness. 

“It helps me think too,” Supergirl smiles, her eyes gazing down into Lena’s. “Especially when it snows like this. Back on my planet, where I’m from, we never had snow. Our climate was much too mild for it. I remember my first snowfall on Earth; I was terrified. But my sister showed me that I had nothing to be afraid of. We spent the entire afternoon making snow angels and I built my very first snowman. I don’t feel the cold, so I could have stayed out there all day. But we headed back just as the sun was setting and then we dropped marshmallows into hot chocolates and watched a movie in front of the fire and it was…” Supergirl trails off, and Lena can see the warmth behind the memory in her eyes. “It was one of my favourite days. It still is. And so whenever it snows now, I just think about that day.” 

Lena thinks Kara being afraid of the snow, wonders about what life must have been like for her back when all of this was new and nothing was familiar, wonders about what happened to make Kara leave her planet, and it makes her shiver. There’s just so much she doesn’t know, so much she wishes she could know, because she just wants to know everything, wants to know even the dustiest corners of Kara’s soul. 

She doesn’t think she deserves the privilege of ever knowing Kara in such a way, but she finds herself hoping all the same. 

Lena doesn’t realise Kara has let go of her with one hand until she feels warm fingertips on her cheek. She surprises herself by leaning into Kara’s touch. Kara’s skin is so soft, so comforting, and she knows her touch is something she could easily become addicted to. 

Kara’s a very affectionate person as it is, fond of hugging and light, casual contact. She touches Lena all the time, and it’s new and completely unfamiliar for Lena, but it’s not something she finds she minds in the slightest anymore. She'd struggled at first, mostly just because she had no idea how to touch Kara back. She’d never been any good at touching other people, at comforting them, and she supposes that that’s because she’d never had anyone to touch. No one to touch her. At least, not with love. But she learns from Kara everyday. And even though Lena’s still getting used to it even after months of friendship, she doesn’t flinch away from it anymore, and she considers that progress. 

Lena watches Kara’s face carefully, watches the softness in her eyes, watches the upwards curl of her lip as she smiles, watches her slow and calculated breath in the night sky as she exhales deeply. 

It would be so easy to lean up and kiss her. _Too easy_. 

“Lena, I-“ Kara’s soft voice breaks the silence, and then Lena watches as she changes her mind, blinks slowly and then forces a smile onto her face that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ll fly around a couple of times. I want you to enjoy this. You deserve more peaceful moments,” she says, and even though Lena knows that isn’t what she was originally going to say, it settles everything inside of her. 

So she takes Kara’s advice and just enjoys the moment. 

 

The third time Kara flies with Lena, it’s the middle of the day and Kara isn’t wearing her suit and Lena has poison running through her veins and Kara can’t think about anything else other than how much she loves her. 

“I’m sorry, I love you so much,” Kara says, over and over and over as they fly across the city towards the DEO. “Please, Lena. Hold on for me.” 

Lena’s heart is beating erratically inside her chest and Kara knows that it can’t keep beating like that for much longer and she wills every single muscle in her body to just _move faster_ because she knows Lena is running out of time. 

She thinks back to two weeks ago, to flying with Lena in the soft snowfall, thinks about the moment where she almost told her everything. 

There have been so many moments where Kara has almost told her everything, and she regrets them all now. 

Because if she loses her today, Lena will have died thinking that Kara didn’t love her, and Kara simply cannot bear to exist in a world where Lena Luthor doesn’t know that she’s in love with her.

Wholly and fully, and in every single way that a person can be in love with another person. 

“Lena, I’m so sorry,” Kara says, and she grips Lena’s body impossibly tighter, tells herself that if she just keeps her close to her, then she’ll be okay. 

Because Lena _has_ to be okay. 

Because Kara can’t _live_ without her. 

The world needs Lena Luthor, Kara’s absolutely sure of that. And maybe she’s a little bias, and if Lena could, she’d disagree profusely and she’d laugh bitterly and she’d make a self deprecating joke. 

But Kara will happily spend every single day for the rest of her life trying to convince Lena of just how needed she is, how loved she is… she just needs her to make it. She needs her heart to keep beating for just a couple more minutes, and then Alex will save her, she knows she will. 

Kara glances down at the city below them, the city they both have grown to know and love with all their hearts. She thinks about Lena’s strong and steady heartbeat the first time they flew together, thinks about the moonlight reflecting in Lena’s eyes, thinks about the shiver that ran through her body when she thought Lena was about to kiss her. She thinks about telling Lena about Krypton, about Alex, about being afraid of the snow, and she thinks about how she just wants Lena to know everything there is to know about her. 

Kara thinks about Lena talking about peace, talking about safety, talking about being afraid of planes but not of flying in her arms, and she wonders if all she was ever really trying to say was I love you. 

Kara thinks about being loved by Lena Luthor, until she feels the burn of tears in her eyes. 

She considers then that if she loses Lena, she’ll have no one to blame but herself. 

 

The fourth time Lena flies with Kara, their feet never actually leave the ground. 

It’s three weeks later, and Lena’s about to head home from work when Kara peers her head around the door. 

“I knew I’d find you still here,” she says, stepping into Lena’s office, and Lena pretends she doesn’t hear the reprimand in her voice. 

She shrugs, only slightly guiltily. “I was actually just leaving.” 

Kara regards her, sees her fastening her coat and wearing her purse over her arm, and that seems to satisfy her a little and she smiles. “Good. Because you’re still recovering and-“ 

“I’m fine, Kara. We’ve been over this a thousand times. You don’t need to worry about me,” Lena interrupts. 

A heavy look crosses Kara’s face then, a look she’s seen so many times over the last few weeks. 

A look that tells Lena everything she already knew. 

“I’ll always worry about you,” Kara says, and it makes Lena shiver. 

When Lena had come around in the hospital three weeks ago, she’d barely had her eyes open for five seconds before Kara was telling her everything. 

She hadn’t known what to say then, or rather she had, she just hadn’t had the courage to say it, and she and Kara have existed in a weird sort of in between ever since. 

Kara has been giving her space, and Lena doesn’t know how to tell her that she doesn’t want it. 

“I— I didn’t expect to see you here,” Lena offers, before a silence can grow too long. 

“I missed you,” Kara replies, and then she pushes her glasses up her nose and plays with her hands. 

Lena wants to go to her. Lena always wants to go towards Kara. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been… distant lately,” she says, fighting the pull she always feels when she’s around Kara. 

She doesn’t know why she’s still fighting it when there’s nothing holding her back anymore. 

Kara shakes her head. “Not your fault.” 

She hates this, hates the pauses and the silence and the strained conversation, because it was never like this before and Lena can’t bear to think that maybe Kara believes she’s the reason for it. 

“Did you need something?” Lena asks, because she needs to say _something_. 

Kara smiles, and just like that, everything feels easy again. “Actually, I came by to ask you something.” 

Lena smiles back. “Anything,” she says, and it doesn’t even scare her that she means it.

“I was actually wondering if you’d get dinner with me?” Kara asks, and the blush that forms on her cheeks as she does is suddenly Lena’s favourite thing in the entire world. 

“On one condition,” Lena says, trying to sound unaffected. She means to hold the pause for awhile, but Kara looks so nervous all of a sudden and she just can’t do it to her. “You fly us there.” 

Relief floods Kara’s face and she grins. “Actually, I was hoping we could walk this time. Because the bay is so lovely this time of day and I’d really like to walk by it whilst holding onto your hand.” 

Lena’s too busy trying to remember how she ever breathed without knowing what it feels like to hear Kara Danvers ask if she can hold her hand to even respond with words, so instead she just nods. 

Kara smiles in response, and her smile makes Lena’s heart skip. After the skip, it beats strong and steady inside her chest, and Lena knows Kara hears it because her eyes soften and her smile grows and then she’s covering the distance between them and placing her hand over Lena’s heart. 

As she does, Lena’s mind goes quiet. 

All she can feel is Kara’s warm touch. 

“I felt you, you know? When I was unconscious,” Lena says, and she doesn’t know why she suddenly feels compelled to tell Kara, but she does and she’s tired of fighting it. “Your touch is… well, it’s exquisite, frankly. And I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing that kept my heart beating that day.” 

Kara’s eyes flutter closed, and Lena wonders if she’s trying not to cry. 

“I heard you too. I heard every word you said to me. At the time I thought I was dreaming because I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams that you felt that way… And then I woke up, and I looked into your eyes and I knew it hadn’t been a dream at all. Kara I— I know you’ve been giving me space, but I don’t need it. The last thing I ever need is to be away from you. You understand that, don’t you?” 

Lena hears Kara inhale deeply, somewhat nervously, but she doesn’t open her eyes. 

“I love you too,” Lena whispers, because it occurs to her that she hasn’t said it yet, not in those exact words even if she has been saying it in other words since the moment she met Kara. 

Kara smiles, opens her eyes, presses a soft kiss to Lena’s cheek, and then she takes Lena’s hand. 

And just like that, Lena feels as though she’s flying.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I really appreciate any comments/kudos you want to leave for me :)


End file.
